# 2171
First the story (reparagraphed to improve readability) from the Chosun Ilbo, then some discussion.
Updated July.24,2008 09:45 KST
Quarantine authorities are investigating whether a cat died of bird flu in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, where a highly pathogenic strain of the disease broke out in April. If the cat is found to have died of avian influenza, it would be the first mammal to die of the disease in Korea.
Dr. Kim Chul-joong, a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Chungnam National University, said Wednesday, “We isolated the highly pathogenic strain of avian flu from the dead cat found along the Mangyeong River in Gimje and have asked the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service to confirm the cause of death of the cat.”
The strain of bird flu found in the country in April and May is known to infect not only poultry but also mammals such as rats and ferrets. If the cat is confirmed to have died from bird flu, quarantine authorities may have to order a cull of dogs, cats and other mammals in the wild.
However, Kim Chang-seob, chief veterinary officer of the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said, “Even though the cat might have died from the avian influenza virus, cats’ somatological characteristics do not transfer the virus to human bodies. Therefore the chances of humans being infected with the virus remain slim.
The idea that cats (and other mammals) have died from the H5N1 bird flu virus is certainly nothing new. We have anecdotal reports going back nearly five years, along with controlled laboratory experiments showing the susceptibility of a wide range of host species.
Accurate or apocryphal, the following story has been around since at least 2005.
In Indonesia, infected birds are purportedly called `plop' by villagers, an onomatopoeic representation of the sound a bird makes when it falls from a tree, dead of bird flu.
Cats infected by bird flu, reportedly scream when they fall from trees, and (so the story goes) are called `Arrrgh Plop' by the natives.
We also have scientific studies, such as this one from late 2006, where 20% of stray cats tested in Java, Indonesia showed antibodies to the H5N1 virus.
Indonesia scientist says 1/5th of stray cats carry bird flu virus
Monday January 15, 2007
(Kyodo) _ About 100 of 500 stray cats surveyed in Indonesia were carrying the H5N1 bird flu virus, a local scientist said Monday.
C.A. Nidom, who first reported that bird flu had entered Indonesia in 2003 but was ignored by the government, told Kyodo News the finding was based on his research funded by the Ministry of National Education and conducted on Java Island and in Lampung Province of Sumatra Island from September to December last year.
And from March of 2007, we have this story carried by Bloomberg News.
Canary Gets Last Laugh: Study Probes Bird Flu in Cats
By Jason Gale and Karima Anjani
March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Cats should think twice before they swallow the canary, say researchers studying if felines roaming the streets of Asia may increase the global threat of bird flu.
Domestic and stray cats that prey on birds in Southeast Asia may play a critical role in transforming avian influenza into a global pandemic, virus-tracking scientists say.
To investigate this, researchers next month will begin the world's largest examination of bird flu in stray cats in Indonesia, where a survey found one in five felines carry the lethal H5N1 virus in some areas. Cats, because of their close interactions with humans, may provide a conduit for the transmission of the flu between birds and people.
Given all of this background, it shouldn't come as a shock that a cat is suspected to have died from the H5N1 virus in Korea. I imagine it happens far more often than we hear about.
Nonetheless, this announcement may lead to culling of cats, dogs and `other mammals' in the affected areas, and to policy changes in future outbreaks.
The culling of cats, dogs, and small mammals is a tactic that South Korea has employed in the past.
The fear obviously is that small mammals could be hidden reservoirs of the H5N1 virus, and could reintroduce it back into a country's poultry industry.
Certainly enhanced testing of mammals in the affected area makes a lot of sense, both for active infections, and for antibodies to the virus. We desperately need more research in this area.
Whether a new culling operation more than 10 weeks after the last reported outbreak in that nation makes any sense, however, is subject to debate.
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